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Monthly Archives: March 2010

We have distilled decades of experience at the intersection of law, business and finance into a suite of articles to help our clients make sense of business valuation, forensic accounting, and litigation support. Please visit our site regularly for our latest content.

Parenting Plans Considerations When Divorcing

Posted in Divorce & Matrimony, on Mar 2010, By: Mark S. Gottlieb

I recently sat down and did a podcast with Leonard Florescue, a family law attorney at Blank Rome LLP, who advises clients primarily in complex matrimonial matters. We discussed the role parenting plans play in the divorce process.   Among the most important aspects of family law are custody and parenting plan issues. The family law practitioner is expected to take great care to work with his or her clients to create a viable parenting plan, which is an agreement between parents, who are either divorcing or who have never married. In the simplest terms, a parenting plan establishes who will spend time with the children and when and under what circumstances. The parenting plan also determines who makes the major decisions about education, medical care and other important issues. A good parenting plan is necessary in promoting harmony and alleviating stressful situations for both parents and children. There can be serious repercussions when parents have either a poorly though-out parenting plan or no plan at all. In an organizational or government hierarchy, there’s a single person or group with the most power and authority, and each subsequent level represents a lesser authority. Parents must create a “hierarchy” of their own. Time sharing is often a very stressful topic for parents. When outlining shared parenting schedules, parents must try their best to avoid potential areas of stress. It’s also advisable for parents to create a formula for the events they are anticipating for the first years of the parenting plan’s […]


Defining Fair Value In Shareholder Disputes

Posted in Shareholder Disputes, on Mar 2010, By: Mark S. Gottlieb

This week, I sat down with Peter Mahler, a corporate attorney at Farrell Fritz, who is widely known as an authority on corporate dissolution and valuation proceedings involving closely-held businesses (which he blogs about over on New York Business Divorce Blog).   First, we discussed how there are times when the accounting and legal professions meet and form a synergy that complements one another. But there are also times when terms and definitions must be distinguished and defined based upon facts and circumstances. The concept of “Fair Value” is one of those terms. A federal Appeals Court once remarked that “the valuation of a closely held company is an inexact science, some might say an art.” The Model Business Corporation Act in 1984 created the right of a shareholder to dissent from corporate decisions and obtain payment of the value of his or her shares. The shareholder is entitled to receive the “fair value” of his or her shares in case of dissent. But the simplicity of the term “fair value” is misleading, as there are many questions to be answered and important factors to be considered in order to reach such “fair value.” Minority shareholders have been granted a number of rights to protect their position inside a corporation and advance their interests. One of these rights is the appraisal right–the right to dissent and obtain payment of fair value of their shares. Fair value can be defined in a number of ways and each definition may be correct. […]